Businesses eager to hire foreign talent, especially in the technology sector, and job seekers desiring jobs in the U.S. have found ways to manipulate a government lottery used to distribute a limited number of annual visas, reports the Wall Street Journal.

Immigration lawyers admit they have helped companies file multiple H-1B skilled-worker visa applications for one individual. Meanwhile, other workers are accepting offers from multiple employers who file a petition on their behalf, the lawyers told the Wall Street Journal.

These practices are not illegal. It is likely that attempts to beat the lottery system have gone unnoticed in the past. The issue has come to light now that the economy has improved and competition for the visas has intensified, according to immigration lawyers.

The practice is hurting smaller businesses who say they cannot afford to match the petitions because lawyers charge $2,000 to $4,000 to prepare each petition.

In April, 233,000 applications were filed for the 85,000 coveted H-1B slots this year. It is unknown how many were duplicates.

"It is no surprise that with the system the way it is today, a lottery based on chance rather than a rational system addressing need, companies are using all legal means necessary to fill their business needs," Elizabeth Hyman, executive vice president of advocacy for CompTIA, an IT-industry group, told the WSJ. "Companies are struggling to fill their open high-skilled positions and the H-1B lottery system isn't working."

To make matters worse, the U.S. government allows a parent company and its affiliates to file multiple H-1B petitions for one foreign worker if there is a legitimate business need.

"The practice is growing and will continue to grow," said Greg McCall, a Seattle-based immigration attorney. A company with four subsidiaries requested that McCall file four petitions this year for the same worker. He did, and one petition was selected, he said.

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, which supervises the visa program, said the agency does not "specifically track the number of cases" in which an entity documented a legitimate business need to file multiple petitions for the same worker.

This year, and the two previous years, H-1B visas were oversubscribed and decided by lottery.

The nonimmigrant visa is valid for three years. If the employer decides to sponsor the worker for a green card, the H-1B visa can be extended to six years or longer.